Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:
According to EcoGeek, the publishing industry (including books, newspapers, and magazines) results in the harvesting of "some 125 million trees per year." Reading e-books on a Kindle, according to a study from Cleantech Group, can help reduce this impact "as long as the devices replace the purchase of more than 22.5 new (not used) books in the lifetime of the device."
No decision has been made yet as to whether the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary will appear in print, contrary to reports in the Telegraph that it definitely will not. The first edition was published in 1928, the second in 1989, and the third is more than a decade away from completion (a team of eighty lexicographers has been working on it for twenty-one years already), according to an Oxford University Press spokesperson. “Demand for online resources is growing but large numbers of people continue to buy dictionaries in printed form and we have no plans to stop publishing print dictionaries.” (Oxford Times)
HarperCollins is "testing a new model of giving away content" by making two short stories by mystery author Charles Todd available electronically for free for two weeks starting August 31. (Publishers Weekly)
Mary Shelley's 213th birthday is today, and Google U.K. is celebrating the occasion with a Google Doodle. (Telegraph)
Inspired by the sale of J. D. Salinger's toilet on eBay, Jacket Copy has collected twelve notable "non-book literary oddities" that can be purchased on the online auction site, including a Gertrude Stein stein, John Updike's high school yearbook, and Albert Camus earrings.
As the New York Times reports, it's been an up-and-down few weeks in the press for Jonathan Franzen "and his new book isn't even out yet."
Bloomsbury, which saw its profits fall 48 percent this year so far, plans to relaunch the Harry Potter series in the second half of this year in anticipation of the final film adaptations. (Independent)
What's next for the local library? BBC News takes a look at the future of book lenders across the pond.
John Cusack announced that he is set to star in The Raven, a "fictional thriller" that takes place over the last five days of Edgar Allan Poe's life. (New York magazine)
